18 May 2010

A very predictable header but after
going drill baby drill, this is what happened at British Petroleum s
“ultra” Deepwater Horizon oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. About 70,000
barrels of oil a day (and still counting) are being spilled into the
ocean since April 20, 2010. The drilling was really “ultra deep”. The
worry is not so much about when the spilling will be contained but where
the oil will land up.

With no end in sight, the blame
game has begun among the 3 actors. The project is owned by BP.
Transocean owns the rig and has leased it to BP till 2013 and
Halliburton, the oilfield services company, did the cement work to cap
the well.

The impacts have not even begun to be considered. The toxic
compounds in oil are known human carcinogens and hydrocarbons are
particularly relevant if inhaled or ingested –for both humans and
animal. For birds, the timing could not be worse. They are breeding and
nesting and especially vulnerable in many of the places where the oil
could come ashore. Nothing short of a catastrophe.

It will ruin for years to come the abode of
the resident seabirds, waders, waterfowls, heron, pelicans,
oystercatchers, migratory birds (swallows, buntings) that use the Gulf
Wetlands as a stopover. With waters and coastal regions already feeling
the impact of the oil spill, these birds could be at risk. It will
totally disrupt migratory patterns and could result in mutations of
certain species. Short-lived species such as shrimp or crabs may
disappear in the region. The fishing industry in the area will pay its
price.

While I am no expert on oil
-from rigs to spills, this much I know. That when you get ultra greedy,
you ultra dig and recovering will be ultra costly.

So my message for British
Petroleum is this.

Drop that hubris .Admit that
there are better forms of energy that we deserve.

And if this is not the right moment to
improve your energy mix, you deserve to stay at the “bottom of the
barrel”